Foolish Pride
by animeninjaNIPPON
Summary: Dinosaur Ryuzaki recalls falling in love with his best friend and the pain of keeping their relationship a secret. [yaoi alert]
1. Epiphany

By animeninjaNIPPON

_The breeze was blowing softly through the distant trees, and the sun was shining gracefully upon the island known as Duelist Kingdom. _

_I didn't care. I was in a bad mood._

_First, Mai Kujaku tricked me out of my suite. That was bad in and of itself, but the fact that she said she'd give me some made it worse. Then, in my attempt to get back at her, I bet my rarest card against some poseur duelist named Katsuya Jonouchi and lost. Someone up there hated me, I was certain. _

"_Hey! Ryuzaki!" I heard a sinister voice call._

_I turned around. "Haga?" I said, shocked. "I thought you were deported off this island."_

"_I escaped the guards," Haga said matter-of-factly._

"_Really? I asked with a wicked grin. "How'd you manage to do that?"_

_He began his lengthy tale of how he gave Pegasus' guards the slip. I felt somewhat better knowing that someone other than me had been screwed over the wrong way. Also, it was kind of nice having someone to talk to. Insector Haga was my only real friend and even he got on my nerves sometimes. Yeah, everyone else hated me…_

_We walked past a dueling platform, where who should step down but Mai Kujaku? She had just finished dueling the crap out of some random schmo, who immediately ran off crying. She approached us with extreme arrogance._

"_I thought you boys were thrown off the island," she said. _

"_They haven't come for me yet," I replied, "and he" - I gestured to Haga – "escaped."_

"_Well, I'd love to stick around and hear about your 'epic adventures,' but I've got a tournament to win." She waved and turned to leave. "See 'ya."_

_As soon as she was out of range, Haga dared to put his two yen in. "I can't believe you thought you had a chance with THAT."_

_I jerked my head in his direction. "What the Hell do you mean by that?" I asked indignantly._

"_She's out of your league," Haga continued. "A woman with that body wouldn't go for some under aged hooligan. Especially in that hat…"_

"_You're one to talk," I fired back. "At least she bothered to make a fool of me. No girls ever talk to you. You're always hiding behind those oversized glasses." Then, with uncontrollable compulsion, I snatched his glasses right off his face._

"_H-Hey! Give those back! I can't see!" he whined. Suddenly, he turned to me. I'd never seen him without his glasses before, and he looked… different. He blushed as I stared at him, and then yanked his glasses out of my hand. _

"_Hey you!" boomed a voice behind us. Haga adjusted his glasses and turned around. It was one of Pegasus' goons. "You said you were going to relieve yourself, and then disappeared for two days. Did you think you could get away that easy?" He grabbed both Haga and me by the ears. "And you, Dinosaur Ryuzaki," he said, glaring down at me, "You're out of the tournament too!" _

_Now I was really in a bad mood. The suit carried us along and led us into a rowboat that would send us back to Japan. But at least I had someone to complain to._

End of part one


	2. Compassion

By animeninjaNIPPON

_Two weeks had passed since I was thrown off of Duelist Kingdom, but I wasn't glad to be back. Everywhere I went, people laughed at me, mocked me, threw things at me – I even got pissed on by a stray dog. The only thing that made such torture bearable was the fact that I wasn't alone – Insector Haga was there with me. Haga was always there…_

"_They worshipped me when I was the all-Japan champion," Haga muttered, "but now they all sneer at me with their evil little faces as if they were gods smiting the wicked." He glared at some passers-by giving the finger. _

_I was taken back by Haga's comment. I'd never heard him say anything that descriptive before. But what really shocked me is that he practically read my mind. Actually, we had felt the same way about many things before this, but this was the first time I'd actually realized it. _

"_Forget those losers," I said contemptuously. _

"_They act as though no one ever lost a duel before," Haga said. "I'd like to see _them_ get out there and battle."_

"_They probably wouldn't last five minutes in Duelist Kingdom," I replied. I was still upset, but somehow talking to Haga made me feel better. Suddenly, I was jolted by a crazy thought – why did Haga hang out with me? He didn't live that close to me, and there were geekier duelists than I lurking about. I don't know why it occurred to me, but I couldn't stop contemplating it once it came up. Thinking about it made me feel rather empty._

_I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my heart jumped. For a moment I thought it was Haga, but then I whirled around and came face-to-face with an angry, muscle-bound upperclassman._

"_You sold me a counterfeit card!" he bellowed, delivering a swift blow to my jaw._

"_Ryuzaki!" Haga screamed._

"_Ryuzaki…"_

_I felt like I was having a dream. I felt someone poking softly at my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes, which were met by Haga's. _

"_You got punched out," he said as I propped myself up. My head was throbbing. I could feel the dizziness seep into my stomach. Within moments, I threw up._

_What utter humiliation. As if the events of Duelist Kingdom didn't suffice to make my life a living Hell, now something like this had to happen. Oh well, at least no one was around to see me break down._

_As I came to, I felt someone's hand against my neck. Haga was holding back my hair. I felt embarrassed. There I was, vomiting in a back alley and this boy was with me, making sure I didn't get dirty. He could be anywhere, but he chose to be here with me and make sure I was all right… did he actually care? _

_I looked over at him. He was looking away. My heart sank. He was reluctant to help me; probably doing it out of obligation. But wait, no – I realized why he looked away. He knew that I didn't want anyone to see me like this. He was trying to save my pride. _

End of part two


	3. Confusion

By animeninjaNIPPON

_I sat in my room pondering what went on that afternoon two weeks ago. When I finished emptying my digestive tract, Haga handed me a paper napkin and said we would never speak of it again. Then I realized that I'd been robbed._

_I didn't want to stay in my room all day on a mild-weathered Sunday afternoon, but I didn't really want to go out and be tormented, either. Perhaps Haga wanted to talk to me… I was so bored and lonely, and I hadn't seen him since the infamous vomiting incident. In between thoughts of getting sweet revenge on Jonouchi and buying new Duel Monsters cards, I thought about Haga pulling my hair back, then giving me a napkin… and every time that memory crossed my mind, I felt a weird tingling in my stomach – not a feeling of illness, but something else. Something indescribable… _

_Fed up with the confusion, I sprang to my feet. I had a feeling that the weirdness had something to do with my being cooped up inside, so I decided to go for a walk. I didn't get two blocks down the street when I saw a group of scrawny nerds waiting to ambush me. I could hear them muttering…_

"_So, did you hear about that Yugi Mutoh?"_

"_You mean, that kid who beat Kaiba?" _

"_Not only that, he beat the all-Japan champion Insector Haga!"_

"_Insector Haga." For some reason, hearing those words – that name - gave me this bizarre feeling in my chest. It was as though someone shot a lightning bolt through my heart that fizzled through my veins and made my hair stand on end. It kind of hurt, but at the same time, I didn't want it to go away._

"_I'll bet you a thousand yen that he wins the tournament…"_

_I didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, I turned and ran the other way. Having no one to talk to was making me lose my mind. That was the only logical explanation for what was happening to me. _

_Despite how fast I ran, I couldn't shake the idea that Haga was driving me crazy. Nothing I did could deter my thoughts of him. I had known that kid for ages – or had I? Why was his image plaguing my mind so subtly?_

_I thought I should go look for him to cease my manic musings. However, I felt scared. I don't know why, but I was afraid to see him. Something was going wrong in my mind, and it was starting to affect my body. I couldn't run anymore._

_I looked around and found myself in the same back alley I paid a visit to a fortnight ago. By this time I was hunched over, gasping for air._

"_God, help me," I moaned. _

End of part three


	4. Waterworks

By animeninjaNIPPON

_After an hour, I came to my senses. I went to a nearby card shop. It wasn't as popular as the Kame Game Shop, which meant it wasn't as crowded, and that meant that fewer people would bother me. But secretly, I went in hopes that Haga would be there._

_I picked up a packet of Duel Monsters cards and pretended to be interested in them, making occasional side glances to the door. Then I put the packet down, picked up a new one, and did the same thing. Suddenly, my eyes caught a glimpse of a huge Exodia poster. I remembered Haga telling me about how he'd thrown Yugi Mutoh's Exodia cards overboard on the way to Duelist Kingdom. I chuckled to myself. Insector Haga had shown up the famous Yugi Mutoh. Cheating wasn't really my strategy, but to each his own, as the saying goes… and Haga was so clever at it._

_I put the cards back and went outside without buying anything. No sooner had I stepped out of the card shop than a commotion occurred at the fountain across the way. _

"_That'll teach you to cheat my kid brother!" someone yelled as he dumped a person into the fountain. "Don't ever mess with the Tanakas!" The angry boy and his mob stomped away angrily. A dripping wet Insector Haga emerged from the fountain. I felt that lightning-bolt feeling in my heart again as I wished that I had a towel to give to Haga._

"_Oh yeah? Screw your family!" Haga yelled after the crowd, which was long gone. He furiously wiped his water-streaked glasses on his soaked shirt, but achieved little success in anything but spreading the streaks further across the lenses._

_Without a word, I walked over to him and snatched his glasses out of his hands. He protested, but I dried them off for him anyway, and then returned them. I hoped nobody saw my gesture of kindness. When he put them back on, he was so surprised to see me that he fell backwards into the fountain._

_First glancing up to make sure no one was watching me (and no one was), I extended my arm to Haga. "Need help?" I offered._

"_I can do it myself," he snapped, pushing himself up only to slip again._

"_Here, let me help you."_

"_I don't need your pity!"_

_Some unknown force compelled me to grab him by his shirt and pull him out. When he tried to stand up, he fell backwards into the fountain again, this time bringing me along with him._

"_What did you do that for?" he demanded._

"_You looked like an idiot in there," I replied._

"_Now _you_ look like an idiot," he retorted. _

_I sighed. "Well, now we'll both be idiots together."_

_He jerked his head at me in surprise, as though I'd spoken some great obscenity. I studied him for a moment: his hair was wet, dripping, shrouding his face in enigma. Something about the way he looked at that moment was very appealing to me, and the way he said "Ryuzaki, take off that hat" made me want to – _

"_What?" I did a double take._

"_Take of your hat," he repeated, almost sexily. So I did. A live carp plopped out of it._

End of part four


	5. Realization

By animeninjaNIPPON

_After the fountain incident, we called it a day. I was still confused, though- had I just imagined a hint of seduction in Haga's voice? Perhaps I was just desperate for attention. People who desire to be noticed are often convinced that anyone will like them given a dramatic circumstance, but if that was the case with me, then why was I still despised?_

_We spent practically every day together now, just hanging out, mostly griping about how the world owed us a favor. As the weeks went by, the public's animosity toward us dimmed, and we were beginning to find ourselves at a loss for conversation. At one point, we were completely silent for 15 minutes until we approached the pier._

_Haga broke the silence. "Do you remember how we met?" _

_My heart began racing. Actually, I didn't remember – all that really mattered was that we had been friends (to some extent) ever since. "Not really," I admitted, wondering what can of worms I had opened with that statement._

"_That's OK," Haga replied evasively. "Neither do I."_

_There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. I stared blankly into the sunset ahead of me, wondering how the sky could be blue one moment and orange the next. Then I realized that I needed to get a life. _

"_We need to get a life," Haga mumbled._

"_I was just thinking that," I said, a little surprised._

"_Sometimes I wonder…" he mused, then stopped._

"_What?" I asked, slightly offended._

"_Nothing!"_

"_Tell me!" I turned to face him. His cheeks glowed fuchsia against the lavender sky. My erratic heartbeat started up again, and I began to feel anxious._

"_Why do we hang around each other?" he finally asked._

_I really didn't like where this conversation was headed. I knew I wouldn't like it; I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. Casually, I replied, "Well, isn't that what friends do?"_

"_We're not friends." His response left me with a sort of sinking feeling._

"_Why not?"_

"_Well," he remarked, "it's not like we have any reason to be. We don't have much in common."_

_How could he say that after all we'd been through? To say that we didn't have much in common was pure crap. We had dueling, at least…_

"_That's a damn lie!" I fired back. I quickly cupped my hand over my mouth. Haga stared at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "I- I mean…" I continued pointlessly, "We do have a few things in common."_

"_Well, if you count dueling," Haga said, rolling his eyes. "And the fact that everyone hates us. And we're only about a year apart in age, we're both Japanese, we both hate Yugi Mutoh and his friends…" He continued to list off things until the sky grew into a deep purple. "OK, more things than I thought."_

"_More things than I thought, too," I whispered._

End of part five


	6. Affection

By animeninjaNIPPON

_We started home on the moonlit street. Aside from realizing that we had a lot in common, I also noticed that Haga was always there to make me feel better when I was pissed off or miserable. All this time I'd just passed it off as coincidence, but it couldn't be that. Yet something was eating away at me inside. I just had to know…_

"_Are we friends?" _

_Haga turned to look at me. "Yeah, I guess."_

_His reassurance eased my weary mind, to some degree. There was still so much I needed to know, so many questions left unanswered. If this kid was truly my friend, perhaps he could tell me what was going on, but I didn't want to sound like a pansy when I asked him. I had to twist it around…_

"_Hey Haga," I said, trying my best to sound casual, "hypothetically speaking, is a guy going insane if he feels weird around someone else?"_

"_Katsuya Jonouchi gives me the creeps and I'm still sane," he replied. _

"_No, I mean like… uh, I can't really explain." I made a few random gestures. "It's like a lightning bolt – going through the heart – "I made a stabbing motion with my fist against my chest – "and it's both painful and pleasurable at the same time. It makes a man dizzy, and nervous, and…" I stopped there. I didn't expect him to have the answer._

"_You mean like being in love?" Haga asked innocently._

_My whole world came crashing down around me. How could I be in love with Insector Haga? He was another male – and I recall having a thing for females. It wasn't as though he looked like a girl, either – he had short hair, never dressed effeminately, and wouldn't be caught dead participating in any "girls'" activities. I hoped to God he was joking._

"_Are you serious?" I cried. "That's stupid! How would you know about falling in love?"_

"_That's none of your damn business!" he shouted, his face turning red. As he cooled off, I could see haw the moonlight really played up his complexion. No sooner had the notion taken hold of my mind than I wondered why in the world I was thinking such things. I liked girls, after all. I liked Mai; I thought she was sexy._

_Haga and I walked into that back alley we had a knack for going into, since it was the quickest way to my house. I hated walking through there in the dark; it was like asking to be mugged. But of course, I was too proud to chicken out._

_Suddenly, I heard a loud crash. Two trash cans toppled over next to me, scaring the crap out of me. I impulsively jumped onto Haga and clung for dear life._

_My nerves were shot. I turned to face him, expecting him to push me away and call me an idiot. He didn't. Instead, our eyes met. I cocked my head to the side and smiled shyly. His face moved closer to mine. I knew what was coming, but it was inevitable. I closed my eyes. He put his mouth on mine…_

_I couldn't believe it. My first kiss! It was so perfect. I figured, if this was kissing, I liked it. I never wanted this experience to end, but eventually we parted._

"_What just happened?" Haga stared at me, wide-eyed._

"_Oh my God…" was all I was able to say._

End of part six


	7. Aftermath

By animeninjaNIPPON

_I lay awake on my bed that night, replaying the kiss in my mind. I was still confused, but now I knew the truth. I loved Insector Haga._

_He was the only person in existence who understood me. It seemed like we had more in common than genetic clones. Plus, there was no denying that he was cute. I could see in his big, bright eyes that he had feelings for me as well. However, I feared that I'd never see him again. Not necessarily because he didn't want me (though I wasn't sure whether or not he really did), but because of our reputations. Sure, anyone could see that we made the perfect couple, but "boys dating boys" wasn't exactly the norm in any culture. Haga had been through enough already; his life was probably worse than mine. If anybody was clued in on the idea that he was with another guy, they'd probably gang up on him, maybe even…_

_No, I didn't want anything bad to happen to Haga. Not only that, he probably recognized the consequences the moment our lips met and decided we shouldn't hang out anymore. Besides, it's not like I wanted to get caught in a socially deviant relationship myself._

_I got out of bed and went to the window, hopelessly searching the streets below for any sign of Haga. Of course he wasn't there, but I was desperate for attention… well, his attention, anyway. I never felt this way about anyone before, and as cliché as it sounds, I'd never been happier. I sighed serenely before going back to my bed and dropping onto the mattress. I was tired, but the moment I fell into bed the adrenaline kicked back into my system and woke me up again. All I could do was sit on the edge of my bed with one foot on the floor and my mind in outer space._

_I replayed the kiss in my mind again, trying to memorize every detail of the encounter. I remember my hands on Haga's shoulders, the feather-light touch of his fingertips against my waist, the warmth of his body as I held him for one brief, exciting moment, and the fact that it ended all too soon. I also remembered the bittersweet aftermath when we stared at each other stunned silence and said goodbye as if nothing came about. _

_Here I was – Dinosaur Ryuzaki, the Dinosaur-type duelist who didn't take crap from anyone if he could help it – feeling the pangs of lovesickness._

_At least I wasn't in a bad mood anymore._

End of part seven


	8. Searching

By animeninjaNIPPON

_I didn't see Insector Haga that day. Or the day after that. In fact, I didn't see him for a whole month._

_Everything else in my life went pretty much back to the way it had been before I'd taken up pro-dueling, and it sucked. Nobody spoke to me, or I to them. I walked all over the places Haga and I used to go, staring into windows and peering around corners, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Needless to say, I had no luck._

_How on Earth did I get so pathetic? I was a man, after all; I had to maintain some dignity. At this point in time, pride was all I had. Maybe a duel would make me feel better…_

"_Hey kid." I stepped in front of some small grade-school boy. "You play Duel Monsters?"_

_The kid looked up at me in terror. He froze there for about five minutes before running in the opposite direction, calling for his older brother. Right on cue, a similar looking kid the size of a gorilla stepped up to me. "Hey, I know you," he said contemptuously._

_It didn't take a rocket scientist or a dueling prodigy to figure out that I needed to get the Hell out of there. I took off screaming._

"_And stay away from my little brother, you got that?"_

_I ran away with all speed, pretty sure that I could outrun that oversized punk. I jumped a fence and wound up in a familiar- looking back alley. (How did I keep ending up there?) The best thing for me to do was to lay low until it got dark and that jerk went home, so I did. I crouched down behind a garbage can and pulled my knees up to my chin, and remained in that position for the longest time, just thinking about things. Most of my thoughts involved Duel Monsters and revenge on Katsuya Jonouchi for humiliating me in front of Mai, but every now and then I relived the moment I kissed Haga. _

_A few hours had passed, and the next thing I knew it was beyond twilight. I figured that cretin had given up on me, so I decided it was safe to go home. I was about to get up when I heard footsteps. Suddenly, a tennis shoe appeared next to my leg. I looked up, fearing that the punk whose little brother I challenged had found my refuge, but my panic quickly switched to a feeling of electric shock in the chest._

"_Insector Haga!" I sprang to my feet._

"_I thought I'd find you here, eventually," he said, adjusting his glasses. The sky had blackened and the moon behind him made him glow with celestial light._

_All these weeks of looking for him so we could talk had passed by like millennia, and there I stood, face-to-face with my best friend, at a loss for words._

End of part eight


	9. Confession

By animeninjaNIPPON

"_I probably shouldn't bring this up, but it needs to be said," Haga stated, adjusting his glasses, a gesture that always made him look charming._

"_Maybe not," I replied. "We both know what's going on."_

_Haga stepped back defensively. "What are you implying?"_

_I could have screamed. Every other moment with him made me feel like I was being prodded with the blunt end of a knife – Haga was screwing with my mind. Despite all the romantic things I said about him in the depths of my mind, I wasn't so sure I wanted either of us to get our feelings out in the open (considering the situation). But the way he toyed with me like a common Duel Monsters card made me just want to swallow my pride, step right up to him, and say – _

"_I love you, Insector Haga."_

_I hadn't really meant to say it out loud, but I meant every word of it. His eyes widened. He clearly hadn't expected to hear me say it, but he didn't seem surprised._

_He looked up at me slowly with naive interest, and then smiled. "I love you too, Dinosaur Ryuzaki."_

_It shocked me to hear him confess, but I was glad he did. My heart's joy overflowed into my eyes and threatened to pour down my cheeks. Haga slowly moved his hand to my wrist then seized me in a passionate embrace. I hugged him back as tightly as I possibly could – he had been so nice to me, and I wanted to give him all the love I had._

"_Let's be…an item," he whispered to me._

"_OK," I whispered back. As soon as it occurred to me that I had just signed on to a relationship, I released Haga and stepped to the side. "Wait a minute. If I'm gonna be your boyfriend, does this mean I'll have to go to the mall every weekend to celebrate every weekly anniversary with you and go to concerts and all that superficial crap that the boy-and-girl couples do?"_

_He looked at me as though I'd snorted a bag of crushed shrimp chips. "What? No!"_

_I gave him a relieved smile. "Even if I wanted to do that kind of stuff," he continued, "we wouldn't be able to. Given the circumstances and all, I mean." When he put it that way, it didn't seem so cheesy after all._

_Haga looked down at his watch. "I gotta go, Ryuzaki," he said sadly, turning to leave. I grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him back._

"_Hold on," I said. "Last time we were together like this, you said goodbye and I didn't see you for a month. I want to be with you again." He looked up at me with a mischievous grin._

"_Meet me here tomorrow night," he replied deviously. I kissed him innocently on the cheek._

"_I'll be here," I promised._

End of part nine


	10. Discovery

By animeninjaNIPPON

_Seasons changed. Weeks went by. Before too long, the Duelist Kingdom Duel Monsters Tournament was over, deciding as its victors Yugi Mutoh and Katsuya Jonouchi. That sickened me; I couldn't stand either one of them._

_Oh well, at least I wasn't alone. I had my boyfriend to complain to, and he knew exactly what it took to chase away my misery. Haga had been there for me for the longest time and we would meet up in the alley every night since the night we confessed our love for each other. We couldn't do much back there since it was still technically public property, but on a starless night, we could sometimes sneak in some closer contact._

_On one particular evening, I stood and waited for him, as usual. I yawned – I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since God knows when. Just then, I heard footsteps. I turned around, and sure enough, it was Haga._

"_Hey, Ryuzaki," he murmured seductively. He walked up next to me and sat down, motioning for me to sit with him. I followed his command. "So, what's on your mind?"_

"_Well," I replied, "I can't believe that Jonouchi took second place in Duelist Kingdom!"_

"_Don't worry, it's not like he came in first," Haga said, then growled contemptuously, "like Yugi."_

"_Yeah," I agreed, "but I still think someone else should have taken the top rankings. Those two are amateurs. Champions should be professionals._

"_Or at least know how to turn the duel around…"_

_I pushed him playfully. "You little cheater. I should confiscate your dueling deck!" I felt him for his cards, and he squealed with delight. Suddenly, a trash can came crashing down._

"_Yikes!" Haga screamed. "What is that?"_

"_Huh?" called an unfamiliar voice._

_Haga began to panic, so I pressed my lips to his and stuck my tongue in his mouth to quiet him down, but quickly got caught up in the moment as he kissed me back. I ran my fingers through his soft, pale hair, then pulled away slightly and gazed into his eyes. In the reflection of his glasses I could see a tall, menacing figure standing over us. I looked up, and so did Haga._

_It was Katsuya Jonouchi, of all people, with an expression on his face similar to that of a very small child who walks in on his parents' procreative activities. I could have died._

"_Dear Lord," he uttered._

End of part ten


	11. Blackmail

By animeninjaNIPPON

_Damn that Jonouchi. Of the six billion people on this planet, he was the last person whom I wanted to know about my relationship with Haga. Not only did I hate his guts, but he was a notorious rumormonger, or so it seemed._

_I picked up an empty sake bottle by the neck and smashed it against the wall. "What the Hell are you doing back here?" I demanded, wagging the broken bottle end at him. He backed up against the other wall._

"_I should put that question back to you," he shot back. "And with him…"_

_Haga got up, adjusted his clothes, and came over to where I'd cornered Jonouchi. "You'd better explain yourself," he growled._

"_I just came back here to take a leak, that's all," Jonouchi assured us with his hands in the air._

_I pushed the broken bottle up to his face, millimeters from his nose. "You couldn't wait until you got home?"_

"_My apartment's in that direction," he said, pointing over the fence. "It's still a long way to go from here."_

_Haga cut to the chase. "Listen up, you little upstart – you better not tell anyone about what you saw back here, or else."_

"_Yeah," I agreed, trying to hold back a smile at Haga's use of the term "upstart." "As far as anyone's concerned, you never saw us. Got it?"_

_Jonouchi winced nervously. "Hey, take it easy. I didn't know you two were like that. I mean, you were together a lot, but I thought you were just friends."_

_I lowered the broken bottle and glared at him. "You never saw us," I repeated. He nodded, mortified. I dropped the bottle and let him pass. He hopped over the fence and disappeared into the darkness._

_I sighed, sinking to the ground. Clearly, my rarest card and spot in the championship weren't enough for the arrogant jerk – he had to take away my dignity as well. I loved Haga, but I didn't want the whole world privy to my personal life._

_My concentration was broken by Haga's arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry about that idiot," he said._

_I yawned again. "I'm tired." _

"_Here." He propped himself up against the wall, then put his other arm around me. "I'll wake you up in an hour." _

_I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes…_

End of part eleven


	12. Invitation

By animeninjaNIPPON

_The morning sun shone gently on my face. I was awake, but I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I was enjoying the mild warmth too much. Eventually, I opened up my eyes to see a green shirt with the image of a beetle on it…_

"_Haga!" I exclaimed, shaking him. "Haga, wake up! Do you realize what time it is?" He stirred, then opened his eyes._

"_R-Ryuzaki?" He looked around nervously, realizing that we were still in the alley._

"_You said you'd wake me in an hour!" I yelled._

"_I guess I fell asleep, too…" He checked his watch. "It's 7:30."_

"_Oh crap!" I sprang to my feet. "I gotta go. 'Bye, Haga." I started to jump the fence. _

"_Wait!" he cried. I stepped back down._

"_Now what? I gotta leave…" I sighed._

"_Don't forget to meet me tonight, OK?" he said, half-turned away._

"_I won't," I promised._

_After I made it over the fence, I darted down the street toward my home. Not watching where I was going, I ran into someone and fell back on my ass. "Hey, watch it!" I yelled before looking up to see whom it was. To my surprise, it was Seto Kaiba. _

"_Aren't you the Dinosaur-Type duelist who lost pitifully to Katsuya Jonouchi in Duelist Kingdom?" he asked._

_I glared at him evilly. "I am Dinosaur Ryuzaki – hey, how'd you know that?"_

"_Everybody knows that," he said wryly. I got up and brushed the dirt off the seat of my pants. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here," he continued. "I have an offer for you."_

"_An offer?"_

"_Yes. You don't like Jonouchi either, am I correct?"_

"_You got that right." I rolled my eyes._

"_Well, my company is working on a new dueling prototype, and I need four people to participate." He went on to explain his "Shadow Game Simulation System 2.0," whatever that was, and how he planned to invite Yugi and Jonouchi to try it as well. "You can get your revenge this way."_

"_Sure," I said, "I accept!"_

"_All right," he responded, "but I'll send invitations to you and your Insect friend anyway. Be sure to RSVP." And with that, he was gone._

_Revenge on Jonouchi sounded too good to be true. I thought about it as I ran home._

End of part twelve


	13. Duel

By animeninjaNIPPON

_Two weeks later, my invitation to KaibaCorp arrived. I RSVPed right away, overjoyed at the thought of showing up Jonouchi. Haga and I took valuable time away from our make-out sessions to practice together, and he always won (I swear he cheated). I had fun, though, and I knew that in the long run the extra practice would be worth it._

_We arrived at the KaibaCorp building around noon, about ten days after the invites came. An executive showed us to an elevator, which Haga and I got into. We were all alone in there, and I wanted to do something sexy – like kiss him – but I was sure there was a camera in there, so I resisted the urge._

_The elevator opened up and a different exec greeted us with a high, phony "Welcome!" That freak led us into the center of the vast, empty room to where Yugi, Jonouchi, and their obnoxious non-dueling friends (Anzu and Honda) already stood. I was not happy to be in their presence, and from what I could tell, neither was Haga._

"_I'll win this time," he said to Yugi, adjusting his glasses. I could hear Anzu mumbling something to Honda in the distance, to which the latter replied, "Don't worry, Jonouchi's a pro now." At this statement, I burst out laughing._

"_Getting lucky doesn't make you a pro," I declared. I was ready to say more, but I was cut off by the sound of a dueling arena rising behind me. Next to each player's platform was a stone cross._

"_Here's how it works," Kaiba announced. "Two duelists will face off against one another, while the other is strapped to a cross. Whenever your opponent attacks your life points directly, your partner will receive a mild electric shock." At the word "partner," Jonouchi let out a little snicker._

"_Is something funny, Jonouchi?" Kaiba asked angrily, glaring at the perpetrator. I knew why he was laughing – because he knew that Haga and I were "partners" in more than just dueling. My blood began to boil._

"_If you want to back out," Kaiba continued, "I suggest you leave now while you still can." There was a wave of protest among Yugi's group, but eventually they conceded._

"_You're going to pay," I said, pointing my finger at my blond-haired nemesis._

"_Ryuzaki has volunteered to duel first," Kaiba announced. "Any objections?"_

"_Fine by me," Jonouchi accepted. "Yugi?"_

"_OK. You duel first," Yugi agreed._

"_Be careful, Yugi," Anzu cooed. "You too, Jonouchi."_

"_Yeah," Honda added. "Good luck."_

_Haga and I just looked at each other, reassuring without words. Then Haga and Yugi were strapped to the crosses, and Jonouchi and I prepared to duel._

End of part thirteen


	14. Revenge

By animeninjaNIPPON

Since I'm an anti-4Kids advocate, I tried to use the original names of the cards whenever possible. But those names were hard to come across… well, I tried.

"_Battle!"_

_The duel had begun. Life points were set at 8000 – higher than they were at Duelist Kingdom. Jonouchi made the first move, summoning Axe Raider. I set a low-level card face-down for fodder, and sure enough, Jonouchi destroyed it._

_I needed some stronger cards – fast. It was my turn, so I drew a card… and it was Leghul, an Insect-type._

_An Insect-type! How the Hell did that get in my deck? That was Haga's area of expertise… wait a minute. It _was _Haga's card. It probably got mixed up in my deck after one of our practice duels, right before we…_

_I smiled as I realized how it got mixed up in my deck. My smile broadened as I remembered its special ability – it could attack an opponent's life points directly. I immediately summoned it to the field._

"_Leghul?" Jonouchi was confused. "Since when did you start collecting Insect cards?"_

_I could tell by his cat-like expression that his mind was in the gutter, so I came up with an excuse: "I won it."_

"_Right…" Jonouchi looked at me skeptically._

"_And I'm gonna attack your life points directly!" I announced before the Leghul hologram went in to assail Jonouchi. Suddenly, an electric jolt went up through the cross Yugi was strapped to, making him cry out in pain._

"_No!" his friends protested as Haga and I laughed maniacally._

_Anzu turned to Kaiba. "You said it would be a mild shock!"_

"_Perhaps Yugi has a low pain threshold," Kaiba responded. Jonouchi clenched his teeth in fury. I smiled. That one was for Haga._

"_You idiot," Jonouchi snarled angrily. I felt some level of satisfaction as Yugi gasped for breath, but it quickly died when I turned back to see Jonouchi grinning smugly. "You just left yourself wide open."_

_Crap! He was right – I was so caught up in my revenge that I hadn't thought carefully. Before I knew it, Leghul was destroyed, and my life points were down to 7500. At least he didn't have any other cards on the field._

"_Damn you," I muttered as Anzu and Honda stood admiringly in the background. I drew another card – Sword Arm of Dragon. I didn't want to use it just yet, so I put down another weak card. Jonouchi promptly destroyed it with Axe Raider._

"_I hope you have a better battle strategy than defensive suicide," he remarked. I glared at him, drawing a card and setting another in my Spell/Trap Zone._

"_I do." I set another weak monster._

End of part fourteen


	15. Betrayal

By animeninjaNIPPON

_Jonouchi grinned smugly. "I won't say anymore."_

_For the next half-hour or so, Jonouchi managed to kick my ass and taunt me for my lousy hand. (Actually, it was more like five minutes, but for what it was worth it felt like 30.)_

_I finally managed to summon Uraby and equip it with Dragon Nails to kill off his Axe Raider, but it only took him down to 7600, just 100 LP ahead of me. He set a monster. I had a feeling things were starting to turn around…_

"_Don't worry, Jonouchi," Anzu cheered, "you're still in the lead!"_

"_Nobody asked for your input," Haga snapped. "Being pretty doesn't give you the right to be talkative."_

_I impulsively turned to look at Haga. How could he compliment another in front of me? It shot a pin of pain into my heart. Then again, maybe he was just generalizing…_

"_Don't worry, Anzu," Jonouchi replied to the mortified chick. "He doesn't mean it."_

"_I don't see why he wouldn't," I fired back in defense for my partner. "Everyone thinks she's hot – I mean, look at her. She's got a rack the size of Mt. Fuji."_

_At that remark, Jonouchi slammed down his current hand and started to step off the platform. "Leave that platform and you forfeit the duel," Kaiba warned him. Reluctantly, he stepped back and took up his cards again._

"_Don't let him get to you, Jonouchi," Yugi called out from the cross. "He's doing it on purpose."_

_Suddenly, Jonouchi brightened up. "Hey, that's right. Well, you better watch it, Dinosaur Ryuzaki – I know crap about you that'll push your buttons, too."_

"_Like what?" I tried to act oblivious._

"_I'm not as low as you," he responded. "I won't use that knowledge to my advantage." Instead, he activated a Hinotama spell card that did direct damage to my life points. I heard Haga scream behind me. His scream bothered me, and it pained me to think that he was suffering. I didn't turn to look at him, though, and that surprised my rival._

"_You don't care that your friend just got electrocuted?"_

_I had to put a stop to this innuendo once and for all – not necessarily for my sake, but for Haga's. I slammed my fist down next to my deck. "What makes you think that he's my friend? We barely know each other, so what do I care if he gets shocked or not?"_

"_What?" Haga exclaimed. I couldn't tell whether he was playing along or not._

"_It sounds like he has a different opinion," Jonouchi said smugly._

"_What do you MEAN we're not friends? After all those times we – "_

"_Both of you SHUT UP!" At that moment, I was so pissed off that I didn't care who I hurt. What did anyone care, anyway?_

End of part fifteen


	16. Frustration

By animeninjaNIPPON

_My heart was racing and my head was spinning. I couldn't concentrate. I was so frustrated that I wanted to just quit and go home, but I wouldn't give Jonouchi that satisfaction. Besides, Haga was counting on me._

"_I'll activate another Hinotama," Jonouchi announced on his next turn. I could feel the attack burning into my soul – not from the holographic fireballs, but from Haga's shrieks. I don't know why his screaming affected me the way it did – perhaps it was from all those times I watched Haga get beat up and was forced to stand by and do nothing…_

_The rest of the duel was rather hazy. I remember playing Sword Arm of Dragon, Two-Headed King Rex, and some spell card. I managed to take out a good deal of Jonouchi's best monsters before he pulled out his (formerly my) Red Eyes Black Dragon. By that time, I had lost the will to fight. I didn't even bother to defend myself – I let him attack me, and Haga got the full blast._

"_Ryuzaki, you coward! Damn you!" he shrieked as my head threatened to explode. I don't know why I screwed up so badly, but it didn't matter anymore. I had lost._

"_Ready for Round Two?" Kaiba asked arrogantly, as if he had no clue how badly any of us were drained._

"_Forget it," Haga said. "This is stupid." He turned and left._

"_He's right," Jonouchi actually agreed, "and I sure as Hell don't want to get zapped on that thing." He pointed to the cross._

"_Very well," Kaiba concluded. "Leave."_

_It took about 15 minutes of running, but I finally caught up to Haga. He glared at me. "Go away."_

"_About what I said," I replied stupidly, "I didn't mean it. I just wanted him to – "_

"_You're so easily annoyed that you don't even try to fight back," he said, "and you let ME suffer for it!"_

"_At least I duel without cheating," I snapped back, not bothering to think before speaking my mind. "You can't even win a fixed game!"_

"_So, you're actually proud of being weak? You might as well start hanging out with Yugi."_

"_Oh yeah?" I yelled, balling my hands into fists. "Pride is all I've got!"_

"_YOU HAVE ME!" Haga screamed. "Or at least, you used to. Now you've got nothing, Ryuzaki."_

_I blinked. "Is it over between us?"_

_Haga turned around, walking away slowly. "I am so damn tired of you always trying to pretend that you don't feel anything. You're my best friend, and you don't even trust me. Goodbye."_

_I still didn't quite get what he was trying to say, but if he didn't want to be with me, it was pointless to argue. I had lost more than some pathetic duel or foolish pride. I lost Haga._

End of part sixteen


	17. Revelation

By animeninjaNIPPON

"_You're my best friend, and you don't even trust me." It had been over a month, but I could still hear Haga's words echoing in the emptiness of my soul. He was right, I realized. He was the only real friend I'd ever had, and I didn't want to take the chance of getting crushed, so I didn't bother getting as close to him as I possibly could have. _

_Deep down inside, I wanted to announce to all of Japan that I loved Insector Haga – that he was my best friend, my partner… and possibly, my soul mate._

_I sat alone in the sunset-illuminated alley where it all began. Every time I thought about Haga, I grew even more miserable. Every time I thought about how much he hated me, I felt like someone was poking the tip of a dagger into my chest. I just wanted to shove the whole blade in there and be done with it._

_I clenched a shard of glass in my fist. It wasn't sharp at all. I began to wonder if I was some type of sub-human when I was suddenly struck in the head with a yellow disk. As I leaned over to pick it up, I noticed that my hand was dripping blood. It didn't really matter though – _

"_Ryuzaki?" My thoughts were interrupted by a voice. It was Jonouchi. "I came to get my disk." He picked it up._

_He could have just left me alone to think about where I went wrong, but he had to play the hero. "When we were dueling, you didn't seem to really care about winning. Is something wrong?"_

_I didn't want to hear it. "Rot in Hell, you yellow-haired son-of-a-bitch!" I snapped, turning around. "You've ruined my life enough already!"_

"_Look," he responded angrily, "I know you're trying to pretend that there's nothing going on between you and Haga. But just remember this – a real man values his friends." With that, he was gone._

_I lay down, staring at the sunset. I still didn't get how it could change colors like that, but maybe it didn't matter. I continued to look into the sky until I saw Haga's head come into view._

"_Ryuzaki, I still love you, very much," he said. At first I thought it was an illusion, but when I got up and saw that he was actually there, I jumped._

_I threw my arms around him. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, that he meant more to me than anything, but all I could manage was "I'm sorry."_

"_Don't apologize," he replied softly, tightening his grip around me. "I just got mad at you for losing, and getting me shocked." He paused for a moment. "And I accused you of being too proud…"_

"_Let's face it," I sighed. "We're both obsessed with pride. We're men, after all." I kissed him. "By the way," I added, "I still have one of your cards." I reached for my deck with my bloody hand. Haga grabbed my wrist._

"_Ryuzaki…" he muttered as he wrapped my hand in a bandage. (He always kept some in his pockets, seeing as he was used to getting beat up.) "There. Now let us speak no more of it."_

_I put my other hand to his cheek. He smiled. I leaned in and kissed him with ever-growing passion, thinking to myself that pride meant nothing without something – or someone – to be proud of._

"_Let's blame Jonouchi for this mess," Haga suggested._

"_Why not?" I agreed. I didn't really care – I was just glad to have my soul mate back._

End of part seventeen

End of story

* * *

Well, that was my first yaoi fic. I hope you enjoyed it. It took a long, time, but I finally finished it! Anyhoo, thanks for reading!

animeninjaNIPPON


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